Bittersweetness
by AlexaRoxURSox
Summary: When Ryan and her parents are gone, what will Sharpay do?
1. Chapter 1

Kat here with the first chapter of an all new fic that I'm writing with my best friend Alexa! You may not know my best friend in the whole universe, Alexa R, but we are alternating writing chapters for this fic. Don't worry, she's an awesome writer. As you can tell, we don't have boyfriends... or lives. But anyway, on with the summary.

So, this is a Troypay, or Troyella, or both, whichever Alexa decides on. On with the story!

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So there I was, sobbing silently, sitting by the tombstone, among the many, that read:

**RYAN JACK EVANS**

**1990-2006**

**WE WILL MISS YOU!**

Flashbacks were running through my head. I can remember exactly how I woke up, and saw my father was a big pile of sweat and he barely had a pulse. I hesitated to call 911, but it was already too late. He was dead. Apparently, he had a heart attack in his sleep.

**ALBERT SEAN EVANS**

**1969-2004**

**YOU STILL LIVE IN OUR HEARTS!**

My mom have already died before (in a car accident), so now I am all alone. That's three deaths in two years. I don't know where I went wrong, but I was there both times, and could've done something, but I didn't. Now, they were laying in the ground in peace right next to each other. My mom's tomb read:

**SHERRIE MARIDETH EVANS**

**1971-2004**

**WE WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER**

It was past midnight so I thought I'd better go home. I had now left New Mexico and lived in Montana. As I was walking all alone in the dark, the white snow crunching under my tan kick off boots, I finally started to realize that I could have done something about it. His life was in my hands and I ruined it. He could be alive right now but no. I could have just stayed calm and I could've called 911 a little faster.

"I should just stop thinking about it… yeah, that's it, stop thinking about it." My angel side told me. "But it's all my fault!" The devil on my shoulder disagreed. "I know I shouldn't say that, but I can't help it, I made a lot of mistakes, and if I didn't make those mistakes, he would still be here today with me."

That is when I realized that I probably look like a total idiot talking to myself. So I traveled the rest of the journey to my foster parents', Hannah and Marcus's house silently, but still thinking about what I could've done, but didn't.

When I arrived at Hannah and Marcus's house, which I insited wasn't my home, so that's why I called it Hannah and Marcus's house, I stepped in the doorway and called, "Hannah, Marcus, I'm back!" tearfully.

"Shh! You'll wake up the others!" Hannah said, pressing her finger to her lips. Hannah and Marcus were African American foster parents of ten children under the age of seventeen.

"Oh, right." I sighed.

"So, where've you been for the past, oh, four hours?!" Hannah asked angrily.

"I was at my family's tombs. My _real _family! You know, the ones who actually looked liked me, and actually paid some attention to me because I wasn't one of ten kids in their house?!" I yelled, tears falling freely from my eyes.

"Sharpay Lyndie Marshall, do not yell at me!" Hannah yelled right back.

"Hannah, my name is Sharpay Marideth Evans! I don't want your last or middle names! I don't want your kids as my siblings, and I don't want to live in this old, moldy, stinking house!" I gathered up my coat and purse and ran out of the house.

"Sharpay, wait!" One of my foster sisters, Abagail, called, walking out of the house with her teddy bear still clutched in her hand.

I slowed down and stopped. I turned around.

"Sharpay, please don't leave! Who will ever take care of me if you leave?" She cried.

"Abby, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. I love you and all of the other kids, but this place is not the right place for me to be." I hugged her, as she had walked up to me while I talked. I stood up and waved as I walked to the train station alone in the cold, my breath visible in the air.

"One ticket to Albuquerque, New Mexico, please." I said as I got the remainder of my money out of my purse.

"That'll be seventy-five dollars." The man said, holding out a ticket.

I winced. "I only have forty-one dollars and eighty-eight cents." I said sadly.

"Ma'am, I can't sell you the ticket unless you have the right amount of money." He said.

"Here young lady, I'll pay the extra thirty-two twelve." A kind, elderly woman offered.

"Thank you so much." I thanked her graciously.

She simply smiled.

I could hardly believe I was going across the US unaccompianed. I didn't know where I'd sleep, or eat, or work, or anything. All I knew was that was where I truly belonged.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Alexa is going to write the next chapter.

R&R

Kat


	2. Chapter 2

Kat here with the next chapter!

I and Alexa made a deal. She's going to write the original chapter for this, and I'm just going to extend it and add on to it.

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I stared out the window with a dazed look on my face, my forehead resting on the cool glass of the window beside me. For a few hours now, I've been thinking about what I'm going to do when I get to my true home.

"Young lady, where are your parents?" The woman who paid for the ticket asked me.

"Well, my real parents are... gone, but my foster parents are back in Montana." I answered.

"Why are you leaving them?"

"Well, a few reasons, really. First, there were, like, ten other kids in that house. And two, my twin brother just died, and I need to be away from the place that he died." I answered truthfully.

"I'm so sorry! So, how did he die?"

"Well, it all started one regular day in Montana, and we were ice skating on the pond in front of our house…"

_I was standing out there, laughing as Ryan attempted a waltz jump, and fell on the ice. It got a small crack in it, but we paid no attention to it, as it happened all the time. _

"_Ha ha. I'd like to see you try it, Sharpay!" He got up, and squinted his eyes at me._

_I giggled. "Okay, I will!" I perfected it. He was in disbelief._

"_No way!" He said._

"_I spend a lot of time out here, little brother." I said, smirking, as I glided backwards on the ice. I then did a simple spin, nearly hitting the snow covered, dead grass behind me. I circled my arms back and forth, trying to balance myself._

_He was bent over, laughing. _

_I then squinted my eyes at him. "At least I can actually do the stupid jump!" _

"_So can I!" He then jumped onto the same crack jokingly. He struck a pose._

_I clapped, giggling. I stopped giggling and simply grinned. He was still standing there._

_As he moved his leg out of the pose to start skating again, the crack got bigger._

_I quickly skated over to him. "Tag, you're it!" I started skating in the other direction, jumping clean over the crack, which I didn't even know was there._

"_Oh, I'm not going to be it for much longer!" He skated as fast as he could over to me. The pressure on the crack made it get easier to break._

_I started skating back to where I originally was, curving around the crack. "Look at me, I'm faster than Ryan!" _

_He tried to take a shortcut, skating right next to the now large crack. Then is when it happened. The crack broke, and Ryan fell into the freezing, seven and a half feet deep water beneath. _

_I had my eyes closed, so I didn't even see him fall in. Then, I heard a bubbling sound, and my eyes shot open. "Ryan?" I asked loudly. It was then that I saw part of his bright red jacket sleeve sticking out from the water. I skated as fast as I could, but the water had made the ice slippery, and I fell, and broke my ankle. "HANNAH! MARCUS! ABAGAIL! HENRY! SOMEBODY, HELP!" I shrieked. _

_It was Abagail who ran out first. "What Sharpay?" She asked._

"_Abby, call the ambulance, and get Hannah and Marcus!"_

"_Sharpay, they're not home!" _

"_Then get anyone strong in this house!" I pleaded._

_She ran in quickly, and my oldest brothers ran out._

"_Please, help! Ryan is in the water!" I said, but it was already too late. He had already died from Hypothermia, but I didn't know that._

_He was already nearly at the bottom of the pond, but my brothers pulled him out. _

"_Ryan? Ryan? RYAN?!" I shouted._

_There was no response. _

_All three of my foster brothers tried to wake him up, and one put a warm, woolen blanket on top of him, and got him off the ice and onto the porch, but nothing worked. _

_I was in both searing physical pain and mental pain. The mental was worse. _

"_Come on, Sharpay." My foster brother, Larry, whispered._

"_No! I can't leave him!" I dragged myself to my now deceased brother. I bawled as I looked at his face, his skin pale blue, his lips pale purple, and his eyes closed peacefully. "Ryan, no, you can't leave me!" I cried, laying my head on his chest, listening for the slightest hint of a heartbeat. There was nothing. I kept my head there, and cried, not caring who saw or heard. The ambulance then pulled up._

_Larry walked up to the truck. "My sister broke her ankle, and my brother died from Hypothermia." He explained._

"_Okay." The paramedic whispered. They took Ryan and me to the hospital, where I lay in a warm bed, wondering where my brother was._

_They had put a cast on my ankle, but that mattered not to me. I only cared that my brother was now gone. _

"And that's how he died." Halfway through the story, my eyes got heavy tears in them.

"I'm so sorry!" The woman exclaimed.

"And that's why I wear this locket, now. It has a picture of me and him inside it." I said, gesturing to the gold heart locket around my neck. I stroked it gently. "I'll miss him forever." I whispered.

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I'm crying right now, just from writing this!

Kat


	3. Chapter 3

Kat here with chapter three!

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"Young lady, that's so tragic!" The woman exclaimed, touching her heart.

"I know." I whispered.

"So his name is Ryan?" she asked.

"_Was_ Ryan. But yes, Ryan Jack Evans was his name." I answered.

"And you're Sharpay?"

"Yes, Sharpay Merideth Evans is me."

"That's a beautiful name, sweetheart." She said lovingly.

I smiled gently. She was a caring woman. "So what's your name?"

"I'm Charlotte." She explained.

"That's a nice name!"

"Thank you." Charlotte paused. "So where are you going to stay in New Mexico?"

"Actually, that's what I'm worried about. I just left without anywhere to go, really." I fumbled with my sleeve, picking out a few of the faux hairs.

"Well, you could stay with me; I like only a few houses down from East High School."

"East High?! That's where I went before…" I paused, and my eyes fell to the floor of the train, "Well, before Ryan and I moved to Montana."

"That's great! My daughter just moved out, so nobody lives in one bedroom. It's much big enough for a girl like you."

"Thank you so much, Charlotte!" I hugged her from the side. "So, what's your daughter like?"

"Well, she's amazing, really. She's moved to Hollywood because she got a record deal with Amazing Records."

"What's her name?"

"It's Marilyn McAllisty. She got it changed a few weeks ago."

"So what's your real last name?" I asked.

"My last name is Algud."

I giggled a little bit. "That's a funny last name."

She laughed. "I know; my husband was named that."

We laughed and chatted about her family and life, and then she asked me about mine. I answered all truthfully. I felt I could be open to Charlotte. She was like a second Grandma to me.

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When we arrived in Albuquerque, Charlotte's husband, Mitchell came to pick us up. He was wondering whom I was, so Charlotte and I played a trick on him.

"Who is this?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me as I climbed in the backseat of their small car.

"Dad, it's me, Marilyn." I lied, keeping a straight face. Those days in Drama Club have finally paid off!

"Marilyn?" He raised his bifocals and squinted his eyes at me. "Can you please sing one of your beautiful songs for me?"

"Mitchell, it's not Marilyn, it's Sharpay." Charlotte chuckled.

"Oh!" he paused as stopped at a red light. "And who is Sharpay?"

She told him my story. He understood in the end.

When we arrived at their house, I looked at it for a few seconds. It was old, you could tell. It was nice, though. It was a cobalt-blue, one story house with white shutters, a white door, a white roof, a well kept, green lawn with three bedrooms, and one bathroom. As I walked inside it, the first thing that drew my eye was a dark maroon wall on the left of me. The room was the living/dining room. It had a large beige sofa and matching armchair. There was a TV in front of both. Down the hall were all of the bedrooms. One was decorated in sage green, silver, and gold fabrics and accessories. That was Charlotte and Mitchell's room. The next room was decorated in baby blue, with clouds on the ceiling. This was the guest bedroom. The last one was to be mine. It was purple, lime green, pink, and turquoise all over. There was a large, queen sized bed in the middle of the far wall. There was an arch window on the left wall. It was covered in lime green curtains that were made of Egyptian cotton. There was a large, walk-in closet in the opposite wall of the window. I opened it, and it was empty. I took off my coat and put it on one of the hangers. Right as I closed the door, Charlotte walked in.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, I love it!" I answered. "It's much better than what I had in Montana."

"I'm glad you like it. Now, we need to get you some new clothes for school on Monday!" She pulled two hundred-dollar bills and handed them to me.

"Wow, I haven't held this much money in about two years!" I exclaimed.

"I'll pick you up from the mall in three hours." She drove me to the familiar mall.

I spent most of the money on clothes, shoes, and accessories. I loved Charlotte. She was so unselfish. Finally, I went into the last store, a winter shop. I got a brand new coat. It was brown suede with tan faux fur around the collar and wrists. I declared myself finished right on time. Charlotte was probably outside waiting.

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It was Monday. I was wearing a turquoise, mesh-print baby doll top, light blue, rip and repair jeans, and silver, glittery ballet flats.

Mitchell was already at work, and Charlotte made me some oatmeal. I had my black and pink striped backpack ready to go to school.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Alexa wrote most of this.

Kat


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the long update, but we've had a ton of homework. On with the story!

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"Ah, Sharpay Evans, you went here before, didn't you?" the Principal asked when I walked into the front office.

"Yes sir, I went here in ninth and tenth grades." I explained.

The receptionist gave me a schedule, and I walked to my homeroom class. I giggled when I realized what class it was: Ms. Darbus's. I walked in, smiling.

"Hi, Ms. Darbus!" I greeted as soon as I walked in.

She nodded, very friendly. I took the first open seat I saw, right behind familiar head on light-brown waves.

"Troy Bolton?!" I exclaimed.

"Hey Sharpay!" He replied, grinning.

Then, I saw another familiar head of dark-brown curls walk up beside him, and cup her hand on his face, kissing him passionately on the lips. Surprisingly, he didn't look too pleased with it.

"Hey Gabriella, Sharpay's back!" Troy said.

"Oh, great." Gabriella replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes with lots of attitude. I was surprised once again. Gabriella had changed a lot. She sat down in front of Troy.

"So, I'm guessing that you two got together?" I smiled.

"Duh!" Gabriella rolled her eyes again.

"So…how is the Scholastic Decathlon team doing?" I asked, trying to be friendly to my once-nemesis.

"I quit them a long time ago! Duh! Now I'm captain of the cheer squad." Gabriella flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Okay, who are you and where is Gabriella Montez?" I joked.

She took it the wrong way. She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, no, no. I was joking. I just was remembering how different you were a few years ago." I put up my hands in defense.

"Whatever! Oh, and FYI, my name isn't Gabriella, it's Gabbie." She once again rolled her eyes, and talked to Troy, twirling a lock of her hair.

My next period was English, and Troy was there with me, but Gabriella wasn't. After watching her kiss Troy as if he was about to leave forever, she started walking the direction. So, I took the chance to talk to him.

"Hey Sharpay." He said before I even said anything. He sighed painfully.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, I don't know how to break it to Gabriella." Troy replied vaguely.

"Break what to her?" I asked gently.

"Well, the problem is…" he stopped mid-sentence. "The Ice Queen couldn't possibly help me with this."

I stopped where I was, and started crying.

He stopped, too. "What's wrong?" He asked me.

I sniffled. "Nothing," Then I decided to tell him what was _really_ wrong with me. "Troy, haven't you wondered why Ryan wasn't here today?"

He shrugged. "I just kind of figured that he was in a different homeroom. Why?"

"Troy, Ryan is dead. He fell into a freezing cold pond when we were _ice_ skating. He died of Hypothermia, and I don't want to _ever_ be called the 'Ice Queen' again." I started walking again, leaving Troy standing there surprised. He caught up with me quickly.

"Ha ha, those days in Drama have paid off." He was smiling.

"Troy, I'm serious. He died of Hypothermia. Didn't you wonder why I came back?"

"Kind of…" He rubbed his chin. We were now three doors away from the classroom.

"But I don't want to talk about it. Back to your problem: What do you want to break to Gabriella?" I asked again.

"Well, the thing is, she's changed so much since I first met her. She's snobby and rude now, and I don't _like _like her anymore. I don't even like her as a friend anymore."

"Well, just break up with her." I shrugged, walking through the door that Troy was holding open.

"I can't! She hangs onto me like a scared little kid! You saw how she acted when we were going to be apart for an hour." Troy looked sad.

"Well, it's better to break up with her now than to be heartbroken later when she finds out that her boyfriend won't even hug her anymore." I answered truthfully.

"Okay, I'll do it." I was surprised he took my advice, since he's despised me since ninth grade. (Or so I thought at the time…)

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The next chapter is on the way!

Kat


	5. Chapter 5

Kat here with the fifth chapter!

Sorry it took so long to update, but I was out of town, and there was no internet where I went, and then I got sick.

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I sighed. Even though school was not over yet, and I was still with Troy, I felt sad as I saw the poster on the wall. It read, "Christmas dance is on December 10th! Be sure to bring a date, since cutest couple will be crowned!"

That's right, a cheesy, corny Christmas dance. And everyone who's anyone was going to be there, with a date. A boy date. That's shocking to me because in Montana, we were home schooled, so I didn't have many friends except Ryan. So I didn't really date there.

"Hey Sharpay." Troy interrupted my thoughts, and saw me with my grimace on.

"Hey Troy." I sighed. I didn't really have a reason for sighing, I just did.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I shrugged. "So, have you told Gabriella, I'm sorry, Gabbie yet?"

"No, I don't think I can, you know, with the dance and everything coming up. We always get crowned cutest couple and everything."

"But you don't like it, do you?" I asked, looking up at him with slightly sad eyes, like a Pug's.

He exhaled, "Well, I used to. But now…" he trailed off.

"So Troy Bolton, tell me, what do _you_ really want to do?"

"I _really_ want to break up with her."

"Then do it." I said simply.

Those words shocked him for some reason. "Okay, I will!"

"Okay, right now!"

"Okay, I'm going!"

"Go, now!"

"Alright!" He finally walked away, his head held high.

I smiled slightly. I was making his life better. Better for him, and better for me. Because now I admit it, I'm, once again, in love with Troy. Since I saw his caring, gentle face when I was talking about Ryan. My heart melted, but my face didn't show it.

Two hours later, lunch was over, and I went to math, a class in which I had with Troy.

"So, where are you going to sit?" Troy asked right before we walked into the room. He startled me, since I didn't know he was there.

"Well, it'd probably help if I _see_ the classroom first." I smirked. Troy once again held the door open for me. It was the fourth time today.

"Yeah, right." He was embarrassed. "So, where are you going to sit?" He asked again, when I'd seen the room.

"I don't know. Where are _you_ going to sit?"

"Um, in the back like I always do."

"Alright. Is it okay if I sit beside you?" I asked.

"Sure!" he responded.

As we sat down, I asked, "So how'd it go with Gabriella?"

"Good for me, bad for her. I think she's still in the bathroom, crying her eyes out." He explained, with almost no remorse.

I sat up straighter in my black, cheaply made, plastic chair. "So you actually broke up with her?"

"Yup."

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, "Tell me exactly what happened!"

"Okay, fine. First, she walked up to me and tried to kiss me, like always. But I didn't let her. When I pulled away, she asked me what was wrong. I told her that we needed to talk. I took her away from the crowd, but her cheerleading clones came anyway. I told her that we've been dating for a while, and that she's changed a lot since I first met her. I told her the truth, that I liked her when she was a 'freaky math genius girl'. But now I don't like her like that anymore. So I told her that I'm breaking up with her. She just ran away to the bathroom. And how much do you want to bet that she's going to act like I'm her boyfriend again tomorrow?" He asked.

"I'd say… nothing, since we all know that I'll lose!" I giggled.

"So, I just want to say thanks for everything, Shar." He stroked my hand gently.

My heart once again melted. "No one has called me Shar since Ryan, well, you know, passed away." It wasn't as awkward to talk to Troy about Ryan as it was with everyone else.

"Well, they do now!" He paused. "Unless you don't want me to."

"No, no, it's fine! I like being called that, but only by people I really like." I whispered.

"So, you really like me?" he asked, both cocky and hopeful.

"As a friend." I lied.

"Oh." He said under his breath.

"So, back to Gabriella… who are you going to go out with now?"

"Well, there's one girl I want to get to know better." He was looking straight at me.

Somehow, I knew he was talking about me. "Oh yeah, who is it?"

"Well, she's blonde, beautiful, and she recently moved back here." We were now in our own world. Nothing else existed but us.

"Oh yeah? Is it Ms. Owens?" I giggled, gesturing to the sixty-five year old math teacher. She fit the description he gave.

"Yeah, but I don't know how to ask her out." He went along with my joke.

"Well, you could always raise your hand and ask her straight out." I could imagine it. The crusty old lady and the hot young basketball player who was beside me.

"Okay." He started to raise his hand, but I pushed it back down, now laughing.

"Okay, who is it, really?" I asked, still laughing.

"I'm not to big on sharing my feelings…" Troy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Whatever! Don't you remember in the eighth grade when you stood on your table at lunch, and yelled out, 'Hey everybody, I like Sarah Bella Hodge!'"

"Well, I've changed since then…"

"Or in the ninth grade when you did the same thing with Amaryllis Brown?"

"Um…"

"Or when you kissed Gabriella on the cheek in tenth grade onstage in front of the whole school at callbacks?"

"Alright! Alright!" he put his hands up. "So I am big on sharing my feelings. But that doesn't mean I want to now!" the teacher was now teaching the class, but we weren't listening.

"Why not?" I whined.

"Because you're the one I'm talking about!" He blurted out, and then blushed furiously.

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The next chapter is on the way!

Kat


	6. Chapter 6

Kat here with the sixth chapter!

We're not really sure where we're going with this story, so ideas would help a lot.

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I smirked. "I knew it."

"Then why did you make me do all of that stuff just now?"

"Because it was fun." I paused. "So, you want to get to know me…" I said slowly, stroking my chin.

He nodded. The teacher was now looking at us with pursed lips, as was everyone else.

"Then, how about tonight at the park? Say seven thirty?"

"Alright."

"Mr. Bolton, Ms. Evans, are you finished?" Mrs. Owens asked.

"As a matter of fact, we are!" I answered brightly. A chuckled billowed across the room.

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"Charlotte, Charlotte, I have great news!" I called as I ran into my new home.

"What is it?" she asked enthusiastically.

"I have a date with the most perfect boy in the world tonight at seven!" I collapsed onto the sofa, oblivious to the fact that the overweight cat, Scooter, was sitting below me.

"MEOW!" Came the angry response from Scooter.

"Sorry!" I stroked the cat.

"That's wonderful, Sharpay! You'd better get ready, then!" Charlotte said, observing that it was already five thirty.

"You're right! Thanks!" I ran to my room and opened the closet. I first picked out my top. It was a simple, low v-necked dark navy blue cami top, which was very tight to show off my curvy torso. Next came my bottoms. I put on primary light blue jeans. I put on simple navy blue ballet flats, since we were going to be walking in the park. I pulled my hair into two pigtails on the sides of my head, making them bounce and sway when I walked. I first put light vanilla-colored eye shadow from my lash line to my eyebrow. Then, I put light, burnt orange and almost brown eye shadow from my lash line to my brow bone. Finally, I put purplish-brown eye shadow on my eyelid, and then blended them together. I first curled my hair into ringlets, and then put it up in a high ponytail. I finished just as the doorbell rang.

"Sharpay, Troy Bolton is here!" Charlotte called.

I squealed, and walked out of the house with Troy, our arms linked.

"So, Sharpay, I have a question." Troy broke the short silence between them, walking around the park.

"Yeah?"

"What was it like in Montana?"

"I guess it was okay…"

"You guess?"

"Well, Ryan was my protector there." I replied vaguely.

"From what?" Troy asked softly.

"Well, my adopted dad used to hurt me. Badly." The terrible thoughts ran through my mind, and I found myself speaking what was in my mind.

"_Hey Marcus, how are you?" Ryan asked brightly, taking off his shoes, and leaving them by the stairs._

"_What are you doing here?" Marcus slurred, his eyes drooping as he swayed side to side, with a beer bottle in his hand._

"_Marcus, I live here."_

"_I don't remember you!"_

"_Hey Marcus!" I walked through the door, untying my shoes, and setting them next to Ryan's._

"_WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Marcus screamed out of nowhere._

_I knew what was coming up. I backed up slightly, and Ryan looked up from the top of the stairs, which was where he was at that moment._

_Marcus closed his fist tightly, and punched me square in the jaw, knocking me down._

"_Marcus, no!" Ryan ran down the stairs as fast as he could, but he wasn't quick enough._

_I stood up, rubbing my face, not noticing that Marcus was right in front of me, a devilish look full of hatred in his face. _

_I let out a blood-curdling scream as he tripped me with his leg from behind and kicking me in the stomach, knocking me back onto the ground. He then stomped on my chest, but then Ryan got there._

_He punched our foster dad in the cheek, and took me by the arm, and together we ran far away into a small storm cellar in the middle of the country, which was built underground, and well camouflaged with the ground. Marcus had never found us there before._

"_Shar, are you okay?" Ryan asked._

_I couldn't speak, and only sobbed. I lifted up my thin, ratty shirt and revealed my bruised stomach and chest. There were old and new bruises, some darker, some lighter, some red, some blue, and some a sickening green-yellow color._

"_We can stay here tonight, Shar, if you don't want to go home."_

_I nodded, pulling my shirt down. _

"So, when he died, I knew I wasn't safe there."

"That is so terrible!" Troy yelled.

I nodded with my head down.

"Do you still have the bruises?"

"Some of them."

"Wow."

A tear slid down my cheek, as I remembered one of the times Ryan wasn't there. I was hospitalized then.

"Hey," Troy lifted up my chin, "It is okay. No one can hurt you here."

"I know." I whispered. We were standing under a large tree, and nobody was around, so we did something amazing there.

He leaned down upon me, his eyes half-closed.

I leaned up the rest of the way, and our lips met in a tender, loving kiss. I was the one who deepened it, parting my lips, turning my head, and wrapping my arms around his neck.

He followed my lead, but made it even better. He licked my lips lightly, but didn't go too far, which made me feel safe and comfortable where I was.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

I added my own little romance at the end!

Kat


	7. Sad Author's Note

I'm so sorry everybody, but I have to delete this story.

My parents found out that I had an account on FanFiction only being eleven, and they said it's fine to have an account, but they don't approve of the story I'm writing. That's part of the reason I haven't updated in two months.

I'm sad to see this story go, and I love all of you that liked it.

Alexa


End file.
